PRO FOOTBALL

PRO FOOTBALL; Exit Losing

By FRANK LITSKY,

Published: December 28, 1992

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 27—
The Giants' season ended today the way it began and the way it evolved. The Giants were inconsistent and overly generous. They were lethargic, then sharp, then almost asleep, and they lost, 20-10, to an Eagles team that played with more intensity.

So the Giants finished this disastrous season with a 6-10 record that almost surely will lead to Ray Handley's dismissal after two years as the head coach. The Eagles finished with four straight victories, an 8-0 season at home and an 11-5 record over all. Next Sunday, they will play the Saints in New Orleans in the first round of the National Football League playoffs.

After the game, Handley said he was not satisfied with the Giants' record or the season. He said he would sit down early in the week, perhaps Monday, with General Manager George Young to talk about his and the team's future. He said revamping was needed. It will probably start with him.

Like so many of his players, Handley talked of inconsistent play. And on this chilly afternoon, the crowd of 64,266 at Veterans Stadium watched a Giants team seemingly dedicated to inconsistency.

In the first half, the Giants recorded no first downs and only 40 yards in total offense. Their seven possessions ended, in order, with a punt, fumble, fumble, punt, punt, punt and punt. Quarterback Jeff Hostetler twice fumbled away the ball on sacks, the second fumble leading to the Eagles' first touchdown.

In the second half, the Giants found themselves. Pepper Johnson recovered a fumbled Eagles punt, leading to a Giants field goal. Later, the Giants drove 86 yards for a touchdown, which came on a 13-yard pass play from Hostetler to Ed McCaffrey. The receiver dived into the end zone, landed on his head and almost knocked himself out.

With that, the Giants trailed by only 17-10 with 10 minutes remaining in the game and momentum on their side. Seconds later, the momentum was gone. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Herschel Walker raced 38 yards up the left sideline, and four plays later, Roger Ruzek's 46-yard field goal gave the Eagles a safe edge.

The Eagles prospered by running and running and running, 198 yards for the day. Walker carried 16 times for 104 yards, Heath Sherman 12 times for 61 yards and the Eagles won as 8 1/2-point favorites should.

"That run by Herschel was key," Handley said.

It was also typical of the Giants' roller-coaster season. And Hostetler, almost typical for him this season, took a physical beating because the Eagles' feared defensive line kept up a fierce pass rush. But at least he finished the game. Five weeks ago, when the Eagles beat the Giants, 47-34, with a five-touchdown rally, they hit Hostetler so hard that he suffered a concusssion and missed the next three games.

Because of that pass rush, the Giants threw mostly quick, short passes. So Hostetler's completion figure (20 of 33) was good, but his passes gained only 202 yards and he was sacked five times. Once, under a fierce rush, he lobbed a left-handed pass to Dave Meggett that lost 10 yards. 'We Didn't Quit'

After the game, Hostetler walked gingerly. His left ankle and left wrist were bruised. He tried to be upbeat.

"In the last half," he said, "we didn't quit. A lot of guys were still working at it. That's a positive. I took their best shots. They fly to the ball. They played with emotion."

The Giants' emotion was a sometimes thing.

"I don't think we broke apart," Johnson said. "We just took the year off."

While the players clearly did not respond to Handley's leadership, many refused to blame the coach for the poor season.

"You can't blame it on anybody except yourself," Hostetler said. "It's frustrating to finish like this. It leaves a bad taste. We showed signs of being a good team, but until we do it there's no use talking about it. Ray has taken a beating this year. To put it all on one guy is way out of line. Players have got to play and coaches have got to coach."

"We can't blame the coach for us not playing," he said. "If you point a finger, point it at us."

Corey Miller, the second-year inside linebacker, spoke like a young philosopher.

"We didn't play well all season as players," he said, "and it's not all the coach's fault. He can't make tackles. There are a lot of things players do wrong. We have to stay together."

Philadelphia fans stayed together in their way. When Reggie White, their marvelous defensive end, sacked Hostetler, they chanted "Reggie, Reggie." When Walker surpassed 1,000 yards in rushing for the season, the first Eagle to do that since Earnest Jackson in 1985, they chanted "Herschel, Herschel."

And in the final minutes of the game, when fans at Giants Stadium might have chanted "Ray Must Go," the Eagles' fans chanted, "Ray Must Stay."

Ray may well go. His team is going nowhere.

"We don't deserve to go to the playoffs," said William Roberts, the Giants' offensive guard. "We weren't robbed or cheated. We just didn't play well enough to go."

EXTRA POINTS

ED REYNOLDS of the Giants suffered atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, in the first half, and left the game. He said he felt all right, but the Giants planned to hospitalize him overnight for observation. COREY WIDMER, his replacement, left the game with a bruised hip. Because PEPPER JOHNSON was the Giants' only remaining inside linebacker, they abandoned their regular defense and finished the game in a nickel. . . . The Giants' only other injury was a concussion to JOHN BRANDES, the backup tight end and long snapper. Outside linebacker CARL BANKS (strained calf) did not play. . . . The Giants activated AARON PIERCE, a rookie tight end, from injured reserve. Their inactive players for the game were offensive guard ERIC MOORE, who missed his fourth straight game with a groin strain, and rookie cornerback MICHAEL WRIGHT. . . . With three receptions, Eagles tight end KEITH BYARS extended his pass-catching streak to 87 games. . . . CLYDE SIMMONS of the Eagles, who entered the game as the league leader with 17.5 sacks, made one more and shared another. . . . At halftime, the Eagles inducted quarterback RON JAWORSKI, their career passing leader, as the 21st member of their honor roll.

Photos: Giants Coach Ray Handley leaving the field after yesterday;s loss to the Eagles. (Barton Silverman/The New York Times)(pg. C1); Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who was hammered throughout the game, being sacked by Eagles tackle Mike Pitts in the second half. (Barton Silverman/The New York Times); Giants' Ed McCaffrey diving for a touchdown over Eagles' Otis Smith (30) and John Booty following a pass from Jeff Hostetler in fourth quarter. (Barton Silverman/The New York Times)(pg. C3)